[amsat-bb] Re: Phase 3

[John Stephensen]

 The problem is that the government is no longer paying for those expenses 
as
 they did in the past. The $8,000,000 is the incremental cost not the cost 
of the
entire launch.

 73,

 John
 KD6OZH

> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Rob" <pabutusa at gmail.com>
> To: <amsat-bb at amsat.org>
> Sent: Friday, September 20, 2013 15:54 UTC
> Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: Phase 3
>
>
>>I don't think we'll ever be in a position to "buy" a launch the most we
>> will ever be able to do  is hope to piggy-back with a paying customer and
>> possibly contribute to "expenses."
>>
>> Maybe having a payload "on the shelf ready" isn't such a bad plan .... if 
>> a
>> "short window of opportunity" were to open up ... and we had nothing 
>> ready
>> that would be an opportunity lost. Maybe we should have various payloads
>> sitting on the shelf (cube, micro, mini, P3) just in case.
>>
>> Piggy-back rides is how Amateur Radio Satellites got their start .... 
>> it's
>> the only way to continue.
>>
>> --> Rob, KA2PBT
>>
>>
>> On Fri, Sep 20, 2013 at 3:27 PM, John Stephensen <kd6ozh at comcast.net> 
>> wrote:
>>
>>> AMSAT-DL was the lead for phase 3 because they were able to get
>>> almost-free launches from ESA. However, ESA terminated that policy 10 
>>> years
>>> ago and AMSAT-DL has been trying to get government funding through their
>>> Mars program. That was rejected a year or two ago. Private launch 
>>> companies
>>> are asking for $8,000,000..The world-wide fund raising by AMSAT-DL,
>>> AMSAT-UK, AMSAT-NA, AMSAT-Japan, ARRL and RSGB for each of the phase 3
>>> launches acheived less than 10% of what is now required for a launch.
>>>
>>> In the past, a launch opportunity was identified by ESA and then a
>>> satellite was built by AMSAT. P3E did the reverse -- building a 
>>> satellite
>>> and hoping for a launch. I brought up AMSAT-DL because someone was
>>> complaining that AMSAT-NA was leading them on about HEO possibilities. 
>>> They
>>> should review videos of the AMSAT-DL presentations at the annual 
>>> AMSAT-UK
>>> meetings. AMSAT-NA has been much more realistic.
>>>
>>> 73,
>>>
>>> John
>>> KD6OZH
>>>
>>>
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>